Jakko is very good on some songs and I enjoyed much of his guitar playing. However, he is not a Front Man. I couldn't help thinking that I was listening to a Background Vocalist singing on songs that had no Lead Vocalist. On powerful chorusus, he sounds really good, but otherwise he's often prone to dramatic volume changes that leave his vocals lost in mush. On recordings, this can often be addressed in a variety of ways, but live, the vocals get lost in a barrage of drums and guitars. Not bass, though, they kept that trimmed all night. One might have to do that when there are 3 kick drums, but even if it meant a bit of a muddy low-end, I'd have liked more Tony Levin in the mix. He and PM were the stars last night, imo. They both had an inspired energy that others in the band could have used at times.Mel Collins put in some good effort and I especially enjoyed the bass flute. GH was more of a part player all night except for his excellent extended solo on Schizoid. The drumz of all 3 drummers sounded powerful, very cool. Most percussion was audible (some PM percussion wasn't). But, the sound treatment left many of the cymbals sounding the same. GH has 2 crash cymbals that are similar, but in the house they sounded the same. PM and GH had hi-hats that sounded identical. One hi-hat can cut through a room easily, 2 that sound identical turn sizzle to searing, not in a good way. JS's kit sounded a bit different than the other 2 though (in a good way!). Cymbals are very personal to drummers, often much more so than drums. Many times, if multiple bands are going to share a drum kit so that they don't have to do alot when changing sets, each drummer will still bring his own cymbals. With this in mind, I can see the drummers of KC wanting to pick their fav cymbals to play, but it might be cool if they work together a bit more to get cymbals that pair with each other better or get the high-end treated better by the sound guy. I'm sure having 3 drummers on stage can be hell for engineers, but I think King Crimson's team can do better. Performances between the 3 drummers were killer with great stereo movement in drum features.I am guessing that there was a house-sound mixer who didn't get enough sleep or something. There were weird volume shifts in RF's guitar, that I have to guess weren't due to RF, although imo his playing was mildly spotty throughout the evening. If the fluctuations were due to RF, he's gotta check his headphone mix. The vocals were mixed kinda crappy. The blend between JJ and TL's vocals was uneven. Both keyboardists sounded raw and did not blend easily with the rest of the band. Of course, many keyboardists tell the sound guy not to modify their sounds because they tailored them to be just right. But, the sounds still have to be blended in with the rest of the band and often that means that something should be done, maybe eq or reverb, but these sounded raw and not in a good way. Many of the patches stuck out in the mix like sore thumbs and could have sounded so much better.Of course, many of the above can be fixed in the recording, but in the house mix I'd like to expect better from King Crimson.Oh, and I'll try not to comment much on RF's pointing out tapers in the audience (picture RF motionless with his priapism of an index finger stuck out for 10 seconds at a time) on multiple occasions, what a doofus. A guy behind him gets to scurrying with a flashlight... ugh.

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Don't Be Stupid Unless You Want To

I appreciate the reasonable review. I've been deep into KC a long long time but they look ridiculous playing this music in those clothes. Are they mentally aligned with bankers and insurance clerks? Is that where they are coming from these days? Is it more comfortable to improvise in coat and tie??? Is their audience filled with yups therefore KC wants to look like they are giving 'em their moneys worth? Fucking capes would be better! And I really dislike capes unless you're an actual superhero. Then again, I don't really care what you wear if you're kicking ass.

I appreciate the reasonable review. I've been deep into KC a long long time but they look ridiculous playing this music in those clothes. Are they mentally aligned with bankers and insurance clerks? Is that where they are coming from these days? Is it more comfortable to improvise in coat and tie??? Is their audience filled with yups therefore KC wants to look like they are giving 'em their moneys worth? Fucking capes would be better! And I really dislike capes unless you're an actual superhero. Then again, I don't really care what you wear if you're kicking ass.

There were some real relics in the audience in LA. I felt very young at 56yo.

I attended Red Bank, NJ, Sunday, July 10. Overall an excellent show. I'll definitely be attending one of the NYC shows in November.

A few comments:

I wasn't overly crazy about the three drummers on the front line approach. There were times when the drumming was overwhelming (as I guess it was intended to be) and I had difficulty hearing what the back line was playing. I know this is heresy, but at times it seemed there were one too many drummers. The drummers themselves were all great, and the interplay between them was fantastic. I've been a Gavin Harrison fan since Porcupine Tree, and it was great seeing him play KC.

Jakko started off a bit trepidatious vocally, but grew stronger as the night went on, and after the intermission he was brilliant.

Mel Collins was excellent throughout.

Personal highlights was the material from Lizard and Islands, which was exceptional! Heroes had me jumping out of my seat.

Some lighting effects would have been nice, especially during the more atmospheric stuff.

I am seriously considering purchasing a Royal Package for the NYC show. For $365USD, Fripp personally confiscates your cell phone!

_________________I can't tell when you're telling the truth.>I'm not. How do I know anything you've said to me is...>You don't.

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